


First Order Tech

by Cyber_Witch



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Dominant Kylo Ren, Dry Humping, F/M, First Time, Force Bond (Star Wars), Inappropriate Use of Lightsabers, Inappropriate Use of the Force, Light Choking, Light Dom/sub, Loss of Virginity, Masks, Masturbation, Original Female Character(s) - Freeform, Plot What Plot/Porn Without Plot, S&M, Smut, Snoke Ships It, Vaginal Fingering, Virgin Kylo Ren, the mask stays on
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-20
Updated: 2017-12-20
Packaged: 2019-02-17 14:31:52
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 20,937
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13078872
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Cyber_Witch/pseuds/Cyber_Witch
Summary: I wrote a series of short smut fics for Smutember on another account and decided to put them all together here :)----Tamira Daws is a Junior Tech on the Finalizer's Bridge, and one of a handful of personnel with minor sensitivity to the Force known as a Nominal. Her career is promising, but there's a wrench in the works related to a minor attraction to her commander.... how will she manage?!----





	1. The Problem

For the Smutember challenge day 12 prompt: fantasy

 

I probably misunderstood the prompt, but whatever!

 

Tamira, a lowly tech with minor Force ability assigned to the Finalizer’s bridge, is harboring a crush on Commander Kylo Ren, to the point that it has started to affect her work. In order to better serve the Order, she must manage her distraction.

\-----------

Tamira the First Order systems tech was in trouble. Or, she would be if things continued the way they had.

Every time the Commander was anywhere near, she could feel him without having to see him. It was one of the side effects of her particular Force sensitivity, as weak as it was, she was sure of it.

The extra sense itself was not unique, and certainly nothing remarkable, except, it seemed, for how attuned it was to Kylo Ren.

The first time she brought it up at the bi-monthly meeting with the other Nominals, First Order personnel whose sensitivity to the Force was too negligible to warrant any consideration beyond a few additional training courses, they had looked at her like she was crazy.

She had assumed that everyone was instantly overcome by his aura when he entered a room. She didn't know she was the only one who could feel it when he was in a powerfully good, or bad, mood, (but only him). And not one other adept knew what it felt like when he looked her way, by chance and accident; the way his mysterious gaze swept over her like a hot, prickly wave.

So, she kept it to herself, worried that something might not be right about her.

Or, worse, that she might be harboring an involuntary, irrational attraction that had chosen to manifest itself in the worst possible way. It was completely disrupting: she couldn't ignore it, she had no defense against it, and the rumors that he could read minds only made the fear that it would be exposed that much worse. The Academy hadn't exactly trained them on how to deal with strange quirks of the Force like this, if that was even what it was.

All she could do was avoid him as much as possible. Of course, even in a closed environment the size of a small city like the Finalizer, she could only do so much. Especially when her assignment posted her so often at the tech stations on the bridge's lower level. If it weren't for her weak connection with the Force, it would have been fine; if she kept her head down, the only people she had to look at were the other techs. But it didn't matter.

The diversion he represented every time he was on the bridge, which was often enough, was beginning to affect her efficiency rating.

That day, the distraction culminated in a particularly mortifying moment when Commander Kylo Ren came down to the tech space below the Bridge walkway to observe the workstation readouts himself. She didn't need to see him to be affected by his presence, but the imposing physical shape he cut had the effect of multiplying the problem tenfold.

He'd asked a tech at a neighboring station a question, and Tamira had been so focused on him, that she'd cut in and answered the question herself.

When that black mask turned to her, silver lines glinting red and green in the light of the terminals, she thought she would combust then and there; Tamira could neither look away from the pitch blackness of his mask's visor nor could she speak. Her face burned, her heart stopped for three beats, and a cold sweat broke out on her forehead, but his gaze paralyzed her as surely as if he were holding her there.

The eye contact lasted for only a few seconds before her neighbor (who himself gave her a questioning look) continued the conversation, pulling the Commander's attention away from her. But Tamira was left trembling and short of breath. She had felt Kylo Ren's scrutiny on her like a lead weight on her chest.

Her answer hadn't been wrong, but all the same, she'd spoken over a higher-ranking tech, directly to the Commander, without being spoken to first. It was beyond mortifying.

So, as any good employee, or soldier, would do, she decided to take whatever measures she could to rid herself of the detrimental interference. Her duty was to the Order, first and foremost, and she needed to see to it that she served to the best of her ability.

After her shift (mercifully free of any further incident), Tamira went to the Ops level canteen with her shift mates to settle her nerves over a Corellian whiskey. Or three.

As they chattered about their assignments or their current mission to the Devaron system, Tamira tuned them out, focused on her level of intoxication. She would need it for what she was going to do.

After the third drink, she politely turned down the cute civilian bartender who was coming onto her and left the canteen alone.

The way back was unsteady, but she maintained her composure all the way to her quarters.

They were tiny, with her bed in the same space as her console, but nice, and she appreciated the solitude that came with her recent promotion. She dimmed her lights and after checking her work notifications at her access console, put some music on.

She chose something bass-heavy and dark, something slow and intense. Something, perhaps, that felt like him in some inexplicable way. She wasn't worried about disturbing the neighbors, thanks to the soundproofing material in the grey durasteel walls, so she kept the volume loud enough to silence all but her most basic thoughts.

As intoxicated as she was, it didn't take long for those thoughts to fix on a certain tall, dark, and mysterious Force adept whose face she had never even seen.

Before anything else, it was his vocoder-distorted voice that came to her, pouring over her like gravel and tar. Laying naked on her bed, Tamira could almost hear it in the throbbing beats of the music, whose vibrations traveled up through the bed and into her body.

She closed her eyes. Unlike the situation earlier, she wanted to be held in place by his concealed gaze, and now she let herself give into that want.

Thanks to the whiskey, the lighting, and the music, Tamira was able to imagine this so clearly that her body started to respond to her own touch. Her mind started crafting an increasingly intense fantasy behind her closed eyes.

As she lay there, exposed on her bed, she imagined the door to her quarters beeping as someone unlocked it from the hallway. A Commander would, of course, have no issue bypassing the security access.

The door whispered open, and the shadowy figure standing there nearly filled it. Behind Kylo Ren's mask, she could feel his eyes on her. Tamira's breath caught in her throat, and a tremulous thrill began to burn in her belly and chest, to think of his scrutiny on her nudity. Would he find her desirable? She had no idea, for all she knew he wasn't even into women or anyone at all. But it didn't matter.

This vision entered her tiny quarters, his stature immense and dark against the overwhelming beiges and greys of her walls and furnishings. The door closed behind him. He was silent, but his power hovered invisibly around him. She knew why he was there, and a wash of delicious fear spread downward between her legs as he closed the short distance between her and the door.

" **Bridge Tech Daws,** " he said in that deep fucking voice, now looming over her bed. "  **You spoke out of turn today… so soon after your assignment here. Have you already forgotten the chain of command on this starship?** "

Tamira bit her lip, and her hands fisted the bed cover at her sides as this Commander braced his hands on the bed on either side of her shoulders, his biceps straining against the fabric of his long sleeves. His mask peered down at her, and he was so close she could see his chest moving as he breathed.

" **I've sensed your thoughts about me,** " he purred, low and dangerous. Gracefully despite his long limbs, he climbed onto Tamira's small bed, making the mattress sink under his weight, his body poised on his hands and knees above her. "  **They are profane and irreverent. The Order's statutes regarding fraternization across ranks are clear…** "

Though it was her own hand that slid down to her neck, it was the creamy smooth leather of Kylo Ren's black glove that squeezed her throat gently.

" **At least… that is what General Hux would think. But he doesn't need to know… he is closed to the Force. He can't sense the bond between us.** "

It was absurd, certainly nothing like it would be in reality, but she was drunk enough not to care.

The hand trailed down to her collarbone, and to her breast, squeezing it with trembling relish and Tamira arched her back, as though that were him mere inches above her. Her other hand slid down to her upper thigh, stroked it, thinking of his groin hovering so near it. She tried to picture what his hardness would feel like. It was an indecent thing, to think about a superior officer's cock, but she let herself have this. It was her duty to relieve her distractions.

But this Kylo Ren didn't let her touch him. Instead, his gloved hand clamped around her wrist, pinned it over her head. With her wrist restrained this way, her head tipped back. Her breaths were coming faster, the feeling of being at his mercy enough to get her pulse racing.

" **Impertinent tech,** " he growled, letting go of her wrist. It stayed there obediently over her head. Perhaps, she imagined, held immobile with the Force. Her other hand slipped down between her legs, and she thought of him touching her there with his glove, probing coarsely for the moisture that was now bordering on excessive. He slipped a finger into her, too fast to give pleasure. She saw him rubbing his thumb and finger together, her arousal slick between them. "  **I know what you want. But you won't get it. Instead, I will show you how I deal with undisciplined personnel on my ship.** "

She'd seen flashes of the strange weapon he kept at his side, though she hadn't chanced staring at it enough to see it in detail. She knew it was powerful, and that it was something he'd made himself. A lightsaber like the Sith of old, capable of generating a fiery blade that could melt durasteel or decapitate a rancor. She'd never seen it activated, though she'd heard descriptions of it from some of the troops who'd seen him training or destroying ship equipment in moments of anger.

She saw him detaching it now, and in her imagination, its shape was smooth and long, metal shining like the bands on his mask. Trepidation filled her when he removed it from his belt, fully aware how easily it could end her life… but the Commander turned the un-activated hilt so that the weapon's dangerous end faced away from her. He drew it down between her breasts, and over her stomach teasingly.

" **Do you want this?** " he asked, smooth and dark, almost mischievous, as he dragged the butt of the hilt between her legs. In reality, her own fingers slipped between her labia and began to nudge her clit, but in her mind, he was doing this with the weapon's handle.

"Yes, Commander," she mouthed silently, brows pinched and pleading, thighs falling open. With the alcohol in her system, and her imagination running wild, she could almost feel the prickling on her face and chest, as if he were truly near her now. The music thrummed down to her core, and Kylo Ren dragged the smooth metal along her folds, and back to her clit, massaging the nub with the hard butt. Her fingers pinched and rubbed through the slickness between her thighs, and she chewed on her lip as the warmth grew.

He leaned close, enough that she could feel the cold, smooth surface of his mask's muzzle on her cheek.

" **Beg me,** " he said in a harsh, distorted whisper.

Tamira started panting, turning her face toward where she imagined his helmet to be.

"Please, sir…" she whispered, this time aloud, though the pulsing melody playing over her sound system drowned it.

" **Please what,** " he hissed, drawing up to wait for her answer.

"Please fuck me with your lightsaber," she said, feeling foolish as hell despite being alone. Her face burned hotter as she imagined him taking pleasure in her embarrassment, though behind that impassive black mask, he could be feeling anything.

" **Since you asked so nicely…** " he said. Tamira slipped two fingers inside of herself rough and deep, and then considering the size of the weapon's hilt, pushed a third in with them. The fit was tight, and she had to bend her spine to reach, but she was given completely to her fantasy, now.

Kylo Ren watched her face as he pushed the hilt of his lightsaber deep inside of her cunt until it hit the back wall and her cervix. Her muscles fluttered around the intrusion and clenched, and she sucked in a sharp breath. He drew the length out of her, warmer from her body heat and slippery with her own fluids, before ramming it back in. She shuddered and writhed, panting. He did it again, faster, harder, and again.

Brutally, Kylo Ren penetrated her with the hilt of the weapon, his own breaths becoming more vocal with his effort, the bed quaking with the motions as he did it again and again. She could see the hardness between his own legs that he was enjoying violating her in this way, and in her wanton lust she gasped his name, out loud this time.

The friction churning against her inner walls generated heat, nearly scalding, as her cunt muscles tightened, gripping the intruding fingers, grasping for more. Her unoccupied hand twisted in the bedcover by her head, pulled it out of its neat tuck.

Tamira's thumb jammed against her clit as she fucked herself on the three middle fingers, and her pinky brushed over the bud of her asshole. She could hear the moist squelching of her fluids despite the music, and her own vocalizations started to come with every forceful inhale.

Kylo Ren balanced himself over her on his knees as he continued to ravish her, and with his other hand, the warm leather gripped her jaw, forced her to look up at him. She felt his gaze on her, like molten durasteel, gluing her in place, compelling her to give herself to him completely.

Her hips strained wide. With their gazes locked in her imagination, and him pumping her cunt with the lightsaber hilt, Tamira climaxed, hard.

A wash of pleasure burst over her, and her eyes rolled back. Around her frozen hand, her pelvic floor muscles convulsed, tensing and releasing with the shockwaves, and she felt her spine ripple and arch as all the tension in her body dissolved at once.

It took her a few minutes to come down from it, panting and sweaty. She didn't think she'd had such a satisfying orgasm in years, not with any of the partners she'd taken to bed, and certainly not since her promotion and increased workload had shifted her focus elsewhere.

The alcohol in her system must have made the fantasy that much more intense, because even as she lay there in post-orgasmic languor, the imagined sensation of Kylo Ren's aura took longer to fade.

\----------------------------

She slept well that night, but she woke with a small headache thanks to the intoxication, and ended up leaving her quarters a few minutes later than she meant to to get to the bridge.

On the way to the turbolift on this level, she had to admit that she felt better, despite her hangover. She just hoped there would be no repercussions for her tardiness.

The lift stopped a few levels above the personnel deck to let another passenger on.

She knew before the doors opened who was on the other side. Kylo Ren, fully dressed in his hood and cloak, stepped onto the lift in front of her, facing the doors. The interior space seemed to be swallowed up by him, and she unconsciously took a step back as the lift resumed its ascent.

Inside her uniform, Tamira started to sweat. Images of what she'd done the night before kept playing mercilessly in her head, and she tried desperately to think of anything else. The thoughts were intrusive, though, and came whether she invited them or not.

She tugged at the collar of her uniform jacket and tried to swallow the dry lump that had formed in her throat. With his back turned, her eyes were locked on him. They drew down from his broad shoulders, set back with an easy, confident posture, to his back, and then down to his heavy black boots.

The air pressure inside the lift seemed to grow until she felt it pressing against her eardrums and sinuses. Her eyes started to burn and water. She could smell him, subtly scented like the detergent used in the laundries, but something else, too. Smoke, or ash.

He shifted his weight on his feet slightly, and his fists tightened at his side.

They were nearing the bridge level when the Commander reached out and touched the turbolift panel, halting it between floors.

Tamira's eye's shot wide, and she forgot to breathe.

Kylo Ren turned his head slightly, just a few degrees to the left so she could see the front of his mask around his hood.

" **I expect you to control your thoughts with more care as you attend your duties today, tech,** " he said with a quiet warning in his tone. "  **And afterward. Do you understand?** "

Tamira's bladder quivered, threatened to release, but she kept everything clenched so tight it started to hurt. Her mind raced, unable to fix on a coherent thought as she realized that her worst fear had come to pass.

The Commander was waiting for a response, his hand hovering over the turbolift controls.

"Ye... yes, Commander," she stuttered, all the heat gone from her face. She felt clammy, woozy, and faint, and she realized she hadn't filled her burning lungs in a long moment. Kylo Ren said nothing, nor did he nod, but he faced forward once more, and she pulled in a shaky, silent breath.

His hand moved to activate the controls, but again stopped just short of them, almost hesitant. To Tamira's disbelief, he turned his body slightly to the right, and his other hand adjusted his cloak, pulling it back subtly.

Gleaming metal at his waist glinted in the diffuse lighting and caught her eye. The hilt of his lightsaber, she realized with some shock, made of dark burnished metal rather than the shiny chrome of his mask. Her eyes flickered up to his head, confusion warring with her humiliation, but it was hidden in his hood and facing the door in front of him.

" **Take note,** " he said evenly. "  **The hilt of my weapon is not smooth, but jagged, and suited only for combat.** "

Tamira's mouth slowly dropped open as he let his cloak fall back into place. There was no mistaking what he was talking about, though why he'd thought to tell her that, she couldn't begin to imagine. He hit the controls again, and the turbolift began ascending smoothly.

Neither of them said another word. When the doors opened on the lower bridge, she stepped around him and hurried to her station, avoiding looking at anyone else.

Kylo Ren exited on the level above. She could sense him, but the feeling wasn't as intense as it usually was, as though he were keeping a tight rein on his own Force presence.

Despite what had happened, Tamira's shock faded as she fell into the familiarity of her job. And as the day continued without incident, she could almost look back on the exchange with good humor. Obviously, if she'd been in trouble he would have made it clear.

After her shift, she made her way back to the canteen with the bridge tech crew, all prepared to enjoy their day of rest before the new work week. This time, when the cute bartender flirted with her, she took him up on his proposition with zeal.

She would serve the First Order to the best of her ability, no matter what it took.

 


	2. The Complication

For day 13 of the Tumblr Smutember prompt: Dry Humping

 

Ops tech Tamira has been managing her attraction to her Commander as well as she can, but when the man himself interferes, her resolve crumbles.

\------------

Two weeks passed and Tamira came close to forgetting her brief interaction with Kylo Ren on the elevator.

Over that time period, he came to the bridge less, and the few times that he did, she didn’t notice his presence as much. By that measure, it seemed that she was starting to get better. Her ongoing fling with that civ bartender was probably helping. While her crush on the Commander didn’t disappear overnight, the total distraction his presence posed had greatly lessened.

A good thing, too, as she had plenty to do.

Their mission to Devaron, waylaid by the need for the Finalizer to avoid Republic checkpoints, was finally back on track. The entire ship was abuzz with speculation.

Some of the cadets training on board suggested that it was a training mission. Others said it was a search and rescue for Imperial holdouts that might be able to join the First Order and provide valuable resources. The techs, herself included, thought it could be something else. Something top secret related to the Supreme Leader and the Knights of Ren. With access to the flight plans and mission lists, and in many cases being involved with the process of organizing that data, Tamira was more likely to believe her fellow technicians than the rumors abounding elsewhere.

She didn’t really care. In the last two weeks, her efficiency rating had gone up, and she’d already been nominated for potential advancement from junior tech to regular tech.

Things were going well, and she was content to remain focused on what was immediately in front of her. ‘Don’t question anything, do as you’re told, and do it to the best of your ability,’ was the simple mantra that had gotten her this far.

All that came to a halt when she was late to work one morning. She’d had a late night trying to finish analyzing a solar array proposal sent for review from engineering, something she’d been putting off for a couple days. It was the first time she’d been late in two weeks. It was also the first time in two weeks that she’d felt Kylo Ren’s muted Force presence so near.

She almost didn’t take that turbolift. But by the time she realized who was inside, it was too late to save face. The doors opened, and there he was, a cloaked pillar of a man. It was almost comical, how out of place he seemed, standing there inside the lift like anyone else on his way to work. She made the choice to get on.

The Commander was standing behind her as they both faced the door.

She was painfully aware of his proximity. She couldn't see him but she could picture him at her back, a solid black wall that seemed to absorb all light and sound. And as the lift rose, she began to feel his aura grow.

It was subtle at first, a faint sensation of pins and needles at her back, but it grew into warmth like a directed thermal ray. It made contact under the skin between her shoulder blades. It was his eyes, or his attention, she wasn't sure.

Her uniform was starting to feel itchy and hot, but she forced herself not to fidget. Until it got worse.

The air inside the lift became heavy and dense until it felt like a physical thing, and the awareness of his presence spread and stretched around her. Without touching her, she felt him begin to surround her. Her heart pounded in her ears until that was all she could hear.

Despite his order two weeks ago, Tamira was not equipped with the focus to control her own thoughts. Everything she'd suppressed about Kylo Ren, every secret musing and fantasy and embarrassing fixation seemed to march itself to the forefront of her mind.

She couldn't help it. She was sweating under her uniform, now, and tugged at her collar to loosen it so she could breathe easier. She felt his gaze fix there, right where her fingertips touched her bare neck, and like a freighter careening into port, the realization hit her. The only reason her awareness of him had lessened over the last couple of weeks wasn't because she'd overcome the distraction he posed, but because he'd been deliberately holding back. And now, he was releasing that control.

The lift opened on the lower bridge and she stepped out, without speaking a word or even looking at the man himself.

Mercifully, he didn’t exit onto the upper bridge, and the lift carried him elsewhere instead. The farther away he got physically, the less she sensed him until… there was nothing.

Tamira was already late, and with her perspiration only worsening under the glare of her supervisor, she set to work.

The only reason this hadn’t yet gotten her downgraded or censured was the extra work she’d been pulling in her off hours, and the senior tech knew it. But that allowance could only stretch so far.

Tamira worked twice as hard, finishing the day’s tasks early, and toward the end of her shift, she got a head start on the next day’s assignments. It was a wise thing, too.

The next morning, due to circumstances outside of her control (in the form of a certain bartender who’d kept her up talking about where their ‘relationship’ was going),Tamira was again late leaving her quarters.

Her dread, that she might encounter Commander Kylo Ren, came to fruition. Irrespective of walls, his Force aura hit her like a wave as the turbolift arrived on her floor. After the wave came an undertow that might have sent her to her knees had she not been steeling herself against it. The doors opened, and his impassive black mask looked on as she entered and stood in front of him.

She had the presence of mind to ask herself why he was already on the turbolift, when the first time he’d entered from a higher level. She wondered, too, why he no longer restrained his potent presence around her as he had for the previous two weeks.

“ **We will be arriving in Devaron orbit in forty-eight hours, yes?** ” the rattly smooth voice spoke behind her, startling her out her thoughts.

“Yes, Commander,” she answered promptly without turning to look at him, though she didn’t know why he’d asked. She helped map routes and direct systems power as necessary, but she wasn’t a navcon tech.

“ **And… all systems are optimal?** ”

Tamira paused, because as he was speaking, she felt the very real effect of his eyes moving down her back and stopping on her ass.

Did he know that she could feel exactly where he was looking? As if answering her unspoken question, the sensation immediately dissipated, but now all she could think about was the fact that the Commander had been inspecting her rear.

“Yes, sir,” she answered, clearing her throat. Her face burned, and she was short of breath. The turbolift stopped and a Lieutenant stepped on, greeting Kylo Ren with a salute, and sparing her likely wan appearance with only momentary curiosity before turning away. He was, by all accounts, entirely oblivious to the invisible tension hanging in the air as he scanned a datapad.

The lift carried the three of them up two more floors in oppressive silence, and the Lieutenant stepped off. Tamira stared straight ahead at the smooth durasteel door panels as if her life depended on it.

“ **You have been attempting to control your thoughts, as I ordered?** ” he asked. There was a husky quality to his voice that made her nearly choke on her own breath.

“...yes, sir,” she answered just above a whisper. She heard the soft creak of leather. His hands, tightening into fists. And as though that sound triggered something, or preceded it, Kylo Ren’s aura expanded, intensified, until she was enveloped in it.

“ **Don’t,** ” came the answer through that dense, invisible fog, a soft command.

Her eyelids fluttered closed, she felt herself sway.

The doors opened onto the lower bridge, and the spell was broken.

“Junior tech Daws, you are late,  _ again,  _ ” Senior tech officer Mason barked before she even had a chance to recover from the surreal encounter and leave the lift. “A formal reprimand will be posted to your personnel file and-”

“ **There will be no reprimand,** ” Kylo Ren interrupted calmly, and everyone within earshot fell silent and stared. The color bled from Mason’s cheeks while Tamira’s were on fire, and she was paralyzed. “  **Now, nor ever. Junior Tech Daws is late because I required her assistance.** ”

“Yes, Commander,” Mason said snapping to attention and sounding like he was going to faint.

“ **Daws,** ” Kylo Ren said in dismissal. She turned to look at him, bewildered, nodded, and then immediately hurried to her workstation.

Her shift mates tried very hard not to look at her as she resumed her tasks, and she tried very hard not to notice that they were all trying not to look at her. On the level above, Kylo Ren’s aura was unmitigated as he moved about. He knew how she was affected by it, that much was clear, and the fact that he wasn’t make any attempt to guard his presence was unmistakably deliberate.

Tamira made some minor thoughtless error during her shift, unable to  _ stop  _ thinking about him as her mind reeled to comprehend what was happening, and what he’d said. But Senior Tech Mason said not a word, nor did he interact with her more than he needed to. He seemed terrified of her, actually.

She’d never been involved with a superior in this way, and had taken pains to adhere to the rules regarding this. But could this even be considered ‘involved’? Their interactions had been, to this point, entirely non-physical. And surely he had better prospects than her. Surely anyone would give their dominant arm for the chance to become involved with him, right?

She attended the second bi-monthly meeting with the other Nominals after her shift, but she remained silent throughout. When asked if she’d been keeping up with her mandatory Force-focus exercises (which was little more than a tedious daily meditation), she lied and said she was.

After that, she skipped the bar and hurried back to her quarters.

But without the aid of alcohol, and now knowing for certain that Kylo Ren knew her thoughts, she couldn’t muster the will to take care of her growing problem.

She tried to lose herself to working at her console for the rest of the evening, but her focus was frayed. Once or twice, she thought she might be sensing him, but it was faint.

The next morning, she made sure to get to work on time, and as she had suspected, she did not see him.

Kylo Ren did not come to the bridge that day, nor the day after.

On the third morning, hours before their proposed arrival to Devaron’s orbit, Tamira was deliberately late.

Kylo Ren was in the lift, almost as though he were waiting for her.

Though the man was as stoic as ever, there was a sharpness to his aura that she couldn’t ignore. It felt, somehow, very like the way she’d been feeling inside; urgently frustrated, and hungry.

“ **Daws,** ” he greeted tersely.

“Commander,” she answered.

The turbolift ascended two floors before she felt his very physical proximity when he moved closer behind her. From the corner of her left eye, she saw him reach around and over her to the controls. He halted the lift and input a lockdown command so that no one else would be able to summon it. His hand stayed there, rested on the wall by the panel, and she strained to look at the black shape of his arm, mere inches from her left ear, without moving her head.

Her thoughts raced, and as he’d ordered, she didn’t stop them. She thought about her fantasy, the way the imagined Kylo Ren had climbed over her, overwhelmed her, and fucked her with detachment.

“ **You’re trembling,** ” he said, his voice so near. She swallowed audibly and closed her eyes.

“Yes, sir.”

“ **Are you frightened?** ”

“No, sir,” she lied. It was a different sort of fear, though, one she couldn’t put to words.

“ **You’re lying.** ”

She almost flinched when his other hand came to rest on her right shoulder. It was heavy, and broad. It began to move, sliding down her upper arm, fingers wrapping around and squeezing through the sleeve of her uniform.

Tamira could almost not breathe. She felt where his gaze was moving, preceding the touch of his hand.

To the inside of her upper arm, then to her waist, fingers tightening there, then down to her ass. The fingers cupped it, his grip firm on the soft flesh through the material of her uniform slacks.

She couldn’t believe it was happening as it was happening.

A hot tremor started in the base of her spine and between her thighs, and as if knowing, the gloved hand moved down the cleft of her ass underneath.

Her legs shifted subtly apart, and now if her eyes could burn holes in the turbolift’s doors through sheer focus, they would have melted it.

Kylo Ren was breathing louder, the sound distorted by his mask much as his voice was, as his large hand rubbed her through the crotch of her trousers.

His chest pushed forward so that it touched her back

Tamira’s mouth was dry as his hand stroked her. She closed her eyes, not that it lessened how strong his aura was around her, and she pushed her hips back against his hand, craving more contact, and harder.

But then he removed his hand from between Tamira’s legs and slid it around to her hip.

She made a small noise of frustration before her hand flew to her mouth in mortification for the shamelessness of it.

She felt the length of his body against her back. His body heat was sweltering.

Instead of his hand, it was his groin against her buttocks. With his height, the hardness of his erection reached her tailbone.

He gently pushed forward, sandwiching her between the cold metal of the doors and him. She breathed hard, and loudly now, unable to stop herself.

“Commander,” she gasped, licking her lips almost compulsively.

“ **Yes?** ” he breathed, gripping her hip in one hand and holding her tightly against his groin. She didn’t know what she was going to say, but it didn’t really matter because at that moment, her ass started moving of its own volition.

The black leather hand braced against the wall by the turbolift panel tightened into a fist as Tamira rubbed her buttocks against his crotch, arching her spine to reach the hardness of his arousal. She could feel her own slickness forming between her legs, making her folds slide against one another. Tender flesh was abraded somewhat by the standard issue First Order women’s briefs.

The hand on her hip tightened almost painfully.

Kylo Ren bucked his hips forward hard, pinning her fast against the door.

The hand braced against the wall moved to her hair, grasping fingers mussing her tight regulation up-do, desperate and tentative at once. The palm then slid down to her cheek, holding her face. He began to grind his hips against her ass.

Tamira opened her mouth, straining to touch one of his gloved fingers with her tongue as he kneaded his erection against her through the material of their uniforms. The weight and strength of him was enough to squeeze the breath from her, but she didn’t care, she wanted to suffocate beneath him.

She let him use her body for his own gratification, her eyes pinched in ecstasy both physical and psychological as the minor friction of her own pants against her slit was enough to drive her mad.

His body covered hers. His Force aura surrounded her, seemed to sink beneath her uniform and her skin, and the sensations of his physical presence and his Force presence bled into one another until she couldn’t tell them apart.

“Commander,” she moaned.

“ **_Yes?_** ” he hissed, his vocoder-warped voice thicker than usual.

“My shift.”

His hips mashed against her ass again, and she grunted, writhing, wanting him on top of her and these damned clothes gone.

“ **You will accompany me to my shuttle,** ” he said, the hand on her face snaking down to her neck. Elation expanded in her chest, excitement, fear, and above all, unadulterated desire.

“Yes, sir,” she groaned. He nearly punched the turbolift’s panel. When it resumed its path, this time taking them back down to lower decks, he stepped back.

 


	3. The Order

For the Smutember 2017 prompt for day 15: handjob/fingering.

 

Tamira Daws has been ordered to skip her shift and accompany Kylo Ren on his personal shuttle. What will happen?! Lmao as if we don’t know

 

\-------------

Kylo Ren managed to exude detachment the rest of the way to the much smaller Portside Hangar bay, as if he hadn’t just grinded his dick on her through their clothes.

Tamira moved fast to keep up with him, smoothing her hair down and straightening her uniform as she went. Her heart pounded in her temples, and she’d been out of breath even before she had to run to keep up with his long stride. Not to mention, the swift pace was making her briefs ride up, thanks to the damp state of them.

When they exited the dark corridor into the interior of the hangar, Tamira almost tripped over a mouse droid as it whizzed in front of her at ankle height. The port hangar was reserved for higher ranking officers with the appropriate clearance, and even standing inside of it was at least a couple ranks above her paygrade.

She’d never been in the officer’s hangar before. It was smaller than the standard one, and quieter. Hangar techs scurried about to finish prepping his shuttle, and as Tamira got closer to Kylo Ren’s  _ Upsilon  _ -class command shuttle, the feeling that she didn't belong there was dizzying.

His shuttle was docked with its two wings folded up like a bird of prey in mid-strike. It was as shadowy and imposing as he was, and she hesitated at the bottom of the lowered docking ramp.

Kylo Ren dismissed some black-suited engineers loading it up inside with supplies. He stood at the top of the ramp as they left, watching her as she fought through her conflicting feelings. He’d ordered her to his shuttle, and while she doubted he’d meant it as an actual imperative, there was just enough of her that wasn’t sure.

She started up the ramp, and ahead of her his black shape was absorbed by the darkness inside.

She couldn’t sense him, and with the interior illumination deactivated, she couldn’t see anything except what wa touched by the light below. She felt for the wall. The cockpit was above the opened floor, so she made her way around it to get there.

A shadow moved, startling her. She backed into an interior bulkhead and the face of his helmet loomed. The edges of the chrome details caught just enough light to outline a sinister eyeless void. Her eyes darted to his side, unsure.

“ **Do you want to leave?** ” he asked.

Tamira’s pulse spiked, and she curled her sweaty hands into fists. The question might have been straightforward enough, but the answer wasn’t simple or easy to give.

“Permission to speak freely, Commander?” she started carefully, dropping her eyes.

“ **Speak.** ”

Her eyes darted past him. She was sure that no one would see them the way they were standing, off to the side with him directly in front of her, but it was only just the beginning of fifth shift. The hanger was quieter than the main hangar, but it was still active. She'd likely been seen entering the shuttle alone with Kylo Ren, not that he'd seemed the least bit concerned.

“Commander… it could go very badly for me if it became public knowledge that I was involved with a superior officer,” she stated plainly, even when it felt like her throat was going to close up.

“ **I see,** ” he said.

“I want to,” she said quickly, “but… you understand my position, don't you?”

“ **I may be your superior, but I'm not an officer. My rank exists outside of the First Order military.** ”

“Oh,” she said, genuinely surprised. “I wasn't aware… but then I don't really know much about you… no one does.”

She was having some trouble getting oxygen to her brain. It felt like he'd taken it out of the interior of the command shuttle. A warm leather glove touched her jaw, thumb pressed sharply into the edge of bone.

“ **I am Supreme Leader Snoke’s apprentice,** ” he said with thinly veiled arrogance. “  **I answer only to him. The Order’s military is a tool whose only purpose is to further His ends. That means, frankly, that I can do whatever the fuck I want.** ”

Tamira’s bloodflow collected heavily between her legs, but even as she felt her face rub against his hand, she couldn’t turn off her brain all the way.

“But… what about me?” she asked.

“ **Yes, that means you.** ”

“That’s not what I meant,” she snorted, blushing. “If anyone finds out…”

“ **No one will know,** ” he answered before she could finish. Without looking away from her, he hit the buttons on a metal support pillar beside the shuttle’s entrance. With the groan of hydraulics, the docking bay ramp started to rise.

His assurance was pretty compelling, especially with her concern that the port hangar’s personnel would see them fading as quickly as the light from outside.

The docking ramp closed and locked with a metallic clank, sealing them into near darkness. Apart from the tiny blinking lights of control panels set into the walls, and console data readouts in an alcove next to the cockpit door, Tamira couldn’t see a damn thing. And Kylo Ren was a shadow within the shadows. She could smell him, though, and hear him breathing, and with the Force, she could feel him.

He was in a powerful mood, certainly, but it was neither anger nor extraordinarily good humor. The hand on her jaw slipped back over her ear and to the back of her head. She nudged the inside of his forearm with her nose, breathing deep. Being in the dark seemed to lessen her inhibitions, because when his fingers started working furiously to get her hair loose from the bun, pulling it in the process, she moaned out loud.

He grabbed her around her waist and thrust her against him, and now that her hair tumbled loose, he fisted it tight at the roots. Tamira shoved her hand between them and, uncharacteristically bold, gripped his erection through his clothes. Her fingers kneaded it, and her hips rolled forward, pushing hard against the firm bulge.

She didn’t care that she was breathing so loudly, because so was he. Through his vocoder, it was a staccato growl that made heat flash in her chest.

He let go of her hair and waist, and worked furiously to unfasten the front of her uniform, all while pushing her away from the wall toward the cockpit door. She helped him as best she could until her back hit the door. He hit the controls, the door slid open behind her, and she stumbled backwards into the cockpit, spinning to face the front.

Immediately she was distracted by the view through the windows. She could clearly see the activity of the hangar as techs and engineers scurried back and forth prepping or performing maintenance, and forgot what she was doing. Her face blanched.

“ **They can’t see us,** ” he said, sliding up behind her, grabbing her hips in his hands and jerking her ass back against his groin.

Her uniform jacket was hanging open, showing the standard issue black undershirt underneath, and as she faced the cockpit consoles, she hoped he was right.

His hands snaked around the front of her pants and set to work unfastening them. His urgency threw her off balance and she stumbled forward, knocking into the copilot’s seat and planting her hands against the console. She was careful not to hit any controls as the Commander made short work of her fly.

As soon as the waistband was loose enough, he tugged it roughly down over her thighs. Gripping her buttocks through her underwear, he smashed his hard-on against the cleft, and she braced against him, trying to keep from getting pushed against the console.

He made a wordless noise of appreciation, fingers tightening into the swell of her ass with bruising strength.

“Sir,” she gasped when the firmness of his cock hit just the right place between her legs. “I don’t have a prophylactic on me.”

Birth control treatments came standard with service, but Tamira still liked to use additional protection, like condoms. Of course, anything like that was back in her quarters.

“ **No matter,** ” he growled, rubbing against her groin hard. “  **I’ve seen your thoughts, Daws. I know what you want.** ”

His words were too close to what she’d imagined the night she’d gotten drunk and fucked herself, but she didn’t have time to think about it.

Just then, the contact broke between their hips. There was a sharp pop and a sting as one of his broad hands clapped against one of her ass cheeks. Tamira gasped, her knees almost buckled. The place where his glove had slapped skin stung so sweetly, and just as quickly his hand was grabbing that cheek, massaging it with almost as much force.

She felt the tickle of moisture as her arousal spread past the crotch of her briefs.

He was doing something behind her, and in her fear she pictured his lightsaber. As he’d said, it was not smooth at all, not made for penetrating something so sensitive. She started to turn around, but a gloved hand gripped the back of her neck and held her facing forward.

Her heart pounded in her chest, and her breaths came fast and shallow. The absence of more bodily contact made her nerve endings hum. It was almost painful, waiting to see what he was going to do to her.

Then… it wasn’t the touch of cold metal she felt stroking down the cleft of her ass. It was a large, warm hand. Bare fingertips tickled the damp fabric of her crotch, making the over sensitive flesh throb.

Tamira let out a low groan, and tried to hide her face against her arm, but the glove on her neck slid easily into her loose hair and fisted it, forcing her to look straight ahead.

A hangar tech in a grey jumpsuit was walking across the floor below, pulling a thick fuel line with him to another shuttle. She watched him as Kylo Ren took the waistband of her briefs in his bare hand and pulled them down over the swell of her ass and then to her mid-thighs, and just like that, her midsection was naked. The way she was bent over meant that her cunt was all but exposed, and there was no way to hide how wet she was already.

Kylo Ren trailed his fingers down around her other ass cheek, and then popped it hard. Her hips bucked, but with him holding her hair, she couldn’t move. Not that she wanted to. She gritted her teeth, and her thighs squirmed to alleviate the intense ache between them as he caressed the same cheek with his bare palm. The unfiltered skin-to-skin contact oh his hand was almost as shocking as what he was doing with it.

Probing fingertips brushed over her wet pussy lips and Tamira’s entire body tensed. And then his fingertips slipped between her labia and she moaned a wordless entreaty.

Brusquely, he rubbed a calloused thumb over her swollen clit, and her entire body jerked like the pad of that finger was a live wire. He kept his thumb there, nudging the nub lightly, almost hesitantly. She felt his other fingers move between the slick folds to her cunt opening and pause there. She strained to hold still as he leaned over her.

“ **Show me that you want this,** ” he ordered softly, close behind her head. He didn’t move his hand.

Heat flooded Tamira’s face when she realized what he was saying. It was embarrassing, but she took a guilty thrill in the idea that she was only acting on orders. It was ridiculous, of course. He couldn’t order her to sleep with him, but the lack of accountability was a massive turn-on in the bureaucratic world of the First Order.

She bit her lip and tilted her hips backward. His fingers held steady at her entrance as she pushed into them. Two fingers, his middle and ring finger, slipped into the slick hole, and her muscles clenched around them. Such a minor penetration was affecting her more than it should have, and soon she was panting.

He didn’t move his hand, but his other hand loosened its grip in her hair to give her more freedom of movement. She could hear how hard he was breathing, and where his body touched her back, the way he was bent over her, she could feel his chest rising and falling, too.

With her face on fire, Tamira closed her eyes and focused on the sensations. She began to move her hips, pushing back onto his hands, and taking his fingers into her. It was almost too wet for friction, but even his two fingers were large enough to push against the sensitive skin just inside of her.

It was awkward, having to control the pace and depth of penetration, but under the Commander’s watchful eye, she felt the need to perform to the best of her ability.

She pushed herself onto his hand to the base knuckle, moaning when the sensation of his skin inside of her churned up ripples of heat. She clenched and drew forward again, until it was just his trembling fingertips at her entrance, and then pushed back again, faster. Her pelvis tipped just enough to rub her clit against his thumb, and then she did it again. Pulling away to his fingertips, then pushing back onto him with a hard nudge to her clit.

“ **Filthy,** ” he murmured without disgust. His other hand trailed down her back, then slid underneath her. When she impaled herself on his fingers again, grunting for the liquid warmth that was spilling into her belly and thighs, Kylo Ren’s glove gripped one of her breasts through her undershirt and squeezed.

The next time she slid her cunt off his fingers, he didn’t wait for her to push back onto them, he did it himself. Clenching her breast like an anchor, Kylo Ren leaned against her back with his body, his weight pushing her so she had to support herself against the console on bent elbows.

The fingers that were inside of her started to fuck her, thumb mashing her clit almost too hard, except the pain was what she wanted. She stopped trying to control the pace and gave into him, gasping and pleading, thighs spreading wider as the heat compounded and spiked and ripples of building ecstasy spread throughout her from the epicenter of her pussy.

“ **This is what you wanted, isn’t it? To be used by me,** ” he asked, his voice a thick guttural growl. She could hear him panting, his entire body tense and jerking with the strength of his violation. His groin pressed against her hip, erection straining against the fabric of his pants as her entire body jolted with each thrust of his hand.

“Yes,” she answered, moaning shamelessly as his knuckled pounded against her pussy, fingers hitting the back walls inside of her repeatedly, with no chance for reprieve. In this position it was deep, though she would have liked to see him while he did this.

“ **You’ve wanted me ever since you were assigned to this ship, haven't you?** ” he asked, a bit breathless.

Tamira struggled to maintain a semblance of conversation as he finger-fucked her, but it was difficult to think. So instead, she felt the truth pouring out of her.

“Yes… I can't help it,” she wheezed, fighting through the mounting heat and pressure. “I felt you through the Force before I even saw you… and then I saw you, and…”

The memory of that first time, almost a month ago, burned bright. Her first visual impression of him was his tall, dark figure sweeping through the corridors like a stormfront on his way to the bridge. Various officers scurried frantically behind trying to talk to him, waving datapads or flimsi-plast readouts. The procession had almost bowled her and the other bridge techs over, but when she finally caught sight of the source of the cause of her unknown Force-based disruption, she'd been done for.

“ **You’re a Nominal, aren’t you?** ” he asked, grinding his dick against her hip hard enough to almost knock her off balance.

“Yes,” she stuttered, clenching her eyes. She could feel the heat and pressure building in the root of her spine. “Oh _ fuck,  _ ” she hissed, gritting her teeth when another spike of sweet bliss flared in her gut.

“ **Of course…** ” he groaned, but then all conversation fell away, leaving only the wet noises of his fingers hammering into her. She felt his dick rubbing her hard enough that the texture of his pants burned friction into her skin, but she could tell by his erratic movements that he was starting to lose control.

That realization must have tipped her over the edge. His thumb ground her clit hard, and the molten warmth overflowed, and Tamira cried out loud enough that she was sure someone outside must have heard. Kylo Ren groaned and shuddered, and his body curled over hers. The hand clutching her breast slid to the side so his arm wrapped around her waist entirely.

Tamira quaked, and her knees folded as the shockwaves racked her, but Kylo Ren held her up, and redirected her body to collapse in the co-pilot’s seat. He pulled his hand out of her and she finally got a look at him.

The skin on his hand was white, fingertips wrinkled with her moisture, and what she could see of it in the light coming through the tinted windows, the hand was not so aged. Kylo Ren fell back into the pilot’s seat, breathing hard, holding the penetrative hand up so it glistened in the light. His masked face was looking at it. Though she had no way of knowing his expression, his bearing suggested that he was trying to collect his wits.

Panting, Tamira pushed through the sleepy warmth suffusing her muscles and started tugging up her pants. Her hair was a mess, and she was sure the rest of her was, too. She’d need to visit a washroom before she got back to work, though she wasn’t sure how she’d manage to act normal after what had just happened.

Kylo Ren’s head fell back on the headrest of the chair and he took a deep breath. He wiped his hand on his shredded half-cloak. He pulled the empty glove out of the belt where he’d tucked it, and pulled it on.

“Sir,” she panted, flushed and warm as she buttoned her fly. “What about you…? I could…”

She let the rest of that sentence hang in the air unspoken. She’d happily blow him, or at least give him a handy after what he’d just done. He’d managed to get her off with just his hand? And his stamina… incredible… she couldn’t wrap her mind around it, especially with the jittery energy still flooding her muscles.

He waved a dismissive hand.

“ **No need.** ”

She remembered how he’d shuddered, and her eyes dropped to his groin. She didn’t see the straining erection she’d felt grinding against her, and then she knew what he meant. Oh. Her face burned as she closed her uniform jacket.

The comms console crackled to life in front of them, and Tamira jumped.

_ “Commander, we’ve reached Devaron’s orbit ahead of schedule,”  _ the female voice said.  _ “Your shuttle is prepped and ready for departure. Hangar crew standing at the ready for your orders, Sir.  _ **_”_ **

Tamira looked outside. She could see now what she’d missed, which was the hangar crews assembled on the hangar floor before his command shuttle, standing at attention.

“Oh fuck,” she whispered. There was no way she’d be able to get out of the shuttle without being seen. So much for their discretion.

Kylo Ren sat there for a moment, his fidgeting hand resting beside the comms button. His black mask looked to her, expression unknowable, but she suspected that similar things were going through his mind.

“ **Do you have any combat experience?** ” he asked, startling her.

“The combat sims,” she answered with uncertainty, sitting up more comfortably. “The standard training. Other than that, no, Sir…”

His hand tightened absently. He paused, then he pushed the comms button and leaned forward.

“ **Change of plans,** ” he said into the mic, sounding more composed. “  **I’m going planetside with a Nominal Force adept. She will aid me in my mission.** ”

Tamira’s jaw dropped.

“ _ But sir,”  _ the voice answered, clearly baffled.  _ “The crew…” _

“ **I can pilot my own shuttle, Corporal. I have no need for additional personnel. This mission requires an understanding of the Force. I have decided that anyone else would be extraneous.** ”

“ _ Yes, Commander,” _  the officer voice said quickly.

Kylo Ren closed the comm channel and sat back. He absently swiped a gloved hand back over the top of his helmet as though he were running his fingers through hair, a universally recognizable gesture of deep thought, or worry.

“ **Yes, this will work well for my purposes,** ” he said, more to himself than to her. And then, as if remembering she was there, he glanced over at her. “  **Junior Tech Daws, it seems that you’re now joining me on this mission. The directives come from directly Supreme Leader Snoke himself… you are inexperienced, but there may yet be a use for you.** ”

What could she say?

“Yes sir,” she said, though it came out as a whisper as dry as her throat was. “I’m honored to serve, though I don’t know how you could possibly have any use for me.”

“ **Yes, well… I don’t believe in coincidence, Daws. There may be a reason for our meeting in this way, at this time. Do exactly as I say and you might survive this.** ”

Might.

Fuck.

“ **Do what you need to prepare. We’ll depart shortly.** ”

 


	4. The Solution

Smutember: First Time

Tamira Daws, a junior technician on the Finalizer, has found herself in a potentially awkward situation with her Commander, Kylo Ren, upon discovering their mutual attraction.

 

\---------

Tamira didn't know what to expect being stuck alone with the menacing commander, especially after he’d so thoroughly debased her (or, really, invited her to debase herself.)

But Kylo Ren acted as though nothing had happened, one of his many apparent skills. He began immediately powering up the Upsiloncommand shuttle with the ease of much practice, ignoring her by all appearances.

She was granted unnerving proof of his professed ability to pilot alone, as half the controls seemed to come online themselves, buttons pressed in sequence, switches flipped, without being directly touched by him. His Force aura spiked, and the dim interior lighting of the shuttle came on, and the fuel line tether from outside came unhitched with a metallic thunk. She imagined hangar techs scurrying around the outside to catch the animate hose as it unhooked itself, and the image made her snicker.

At the sound, he turned his head slightly to look at her, and though it was impossible to know his expression, she couldn’t help but interpret his look as one of annoyance. Her humor died and she sat the rest of the time in uncertain silence.

She might have still been feeling the warm afterglow of the orgasm he’d pulled out of her, but at the moment she felt very much like a junior tech sitting next to one of the most important men in the First Order. It was nerve racking, to be sure, so she made the choice to act as professionally as she could in the context.

“ **All systems online,** ” he said into the comms when the console glowed and twinkled in a multitude of colored lights that shone in the chrome detailing on his mask. “  **The Finalizer is yours, General Hux.** ”

“Yes, she is,” Hux’s clipped tone answered on the other end of the comms. “You have sixteen hours before hyperspace jump, Ren. Be sure you are on schedule. I will be.”

Tamira felt Kylo Ren’s flash of anger seconds before he turned off the comms completely, leaving only the hum of the shuttle’s power and engine systems. She had the distinct impression that the exchange had not been meant for a lowly tech’s ears, and thought it would be best to act like she hadn’t heard it. She'd never personally known Hux be anything less than courteous and professional, at least to the bridge crew and other personnel, but there was clearly some kind of tension between the two of them.

The shuttle lifted, steam billowed out from underneath. They launched through the port hangar’s outer force field  and into dark space. The sound of the wings extending and sensor nodes coming online took the place of the lack of conversation, and Tamira quieted her thoughts to observe the view through the front windows.

Devaron, a lush garden world with only a minor temperature difference between its poles and equator, loomed large in front of them. The stunning greens of its continent-spanning jungles were easy to see, even from orbit. As the shuttle carried them closer to their destination, she saw evidence of civilization scattered over the landscape beneath the dense, humid layer of upper atmosphere.

She glanced toward Kylo Ren out of the corner of her eye and caught him subtly adjusting his groin. How he maintained such stolid composure with cum drying in his pants she had no idea, but it was admirable.

“ **Silence your thoughts, Daws, or keep better guard on them,** ” he ordered sharply, checking the navcon display and adjusting their trajectory. “  **I can’t have your every pointless musing distract me in a crucial moment.** ”

Tamira’s face flashed hot and annoyance tightened in her chest.

“You said-”

“ **What was said earlier isn’t relevant. This isn't about some frivolous physical attraction. The mission is far more important and your constant mental chatter is disruptive.** ”

She glared at him, emboldened by the fact that he wasn’t looking at her. She felt insulted, perhaps cut by his dismissive words, but she was an adult, and she knew how to be a professional. And she couldn’t forget who, and what, he was. It wasn’t the first time she’d dealt with the verbal hostility of a superior, but it was the first time she’d had to take it after being fingered by one of them.

She took a breath to calm the anger and faced the front window. They were flying just beneath the cloud layer, now, far above the mist-soaked forests. Heavy rain battered the ship’s forward shielding as they passed over the ruins of an ancient city.

She was careful when she addressed him again.

“I’ve never been in a situation where guarding my thoughts was necessary. With all due respect, can’t you just... block me out somehow?”

“ **It was never an issue before you were posted to the Finalizer** ” he stated. “ **The Force draws us together in ways I don’t understand. It makes your thoughts regarding me especially loud. And unavoidable.** ”

Mortified with the implications of what he’d just said, Tamira felt herself shrink down in her seat. Kylo Ren maintained a chill demeanor as he changed their heading toward a tall structure emerging over the jungle canopy on the horizon.

Meanwhile, his words played over and over in her head. How many times had she found her thoughts fixing on him involuntarily when he was near, and even when he wasn’t? Her curiosity about the elusive man had become something else entirely. And he couldn’t tune her out. The Force was linking them together for some reason, she wasn’t just imagining it.

“Do you know anything about that…?” she asked, too curious to keep quiet despite her embarrassment. The tower grew in size the closer they became until it blocked the misty white daylight.

“ **No,** ” he answered, bringing the shuttle down over an overgrown circular courtyard. “  **But this temple was built over a vergence in the Force. You might learn something by coming here. I expect I will too, once I find what I’m looking for.** ”

“What is it? If you can tell me,” she said.

“ **A Sith artifact of great worth. And great power. The Supreme Leader thinks there may be use for it, but its retrieval can’t be entrusted to just anyone.** ”

He initiated landing protocols and Tamira settled her nerves as the Shuttle sank down upon its docking legs. Kylo Ren had a sometimes tactless way of speaking, there was no doubt. But she couldn’t deny the opportunity in front of her. Despite imagining all of the ways this could go wrong, being with the Commander on an important mission gave her a bit of a rush that had more to do with her position in the First Order than anything more personal.

He rose to his feet as the shuttle automatically completed the sequence, wings rising and retracting.

“ **Gather what you need from the supplies, we disembark in an hour.** ”

“How likely are we to see combat...?” she asked, drumming her fingers on her thighs. Kylo Ren paused at the entrance to the cockpit.

“ **We won’t be the only ones drawn to the artifact’s power, Daws. But any malevolent entities we encounter likely won’t be affected by conventional weapons.** ”

She was having trouble sitting still all of a sudden, and a strange churning feeling had started to rise from her stomach into her chest.

“Commander, I wasn’t trained for this,” she said as plainly as she could.

“ **Then stay close, and don’t get in my way.** ”

Without another word, he left the cockpit, and Tamira was left wondering what she’d managed to get herself into, both with the mission and the man.

Tamira knew that there was a refresher onboard the shuttle, and she imagined that was where he was going now. She gave the courtyard outside another look before heading to the shuttle’s cargo room to grab one of the pre-prepped ground mission supply kits that had been loaded onboard (probably meant for the troopers that were supposed to be on this mission with him), and a hooded poncho. Considering what he’d said, and her own relative inexperience with weapons, she decided to leave the blaster crate alone.

As the Commander did whatever he needed to do, she sat at the top of the lowered docking ramp and listened to the rain falling outside. Considering his request that she guard her thoughts, Tamira listened to the steady patter and sounds of life spilling from the surrounding jungle, and she made herself concentrate on the meditative mindfulness exercises that she’d been lax with lately.

If it helped her maintain some semblance of privacy around Kylo Ren, all the better.

An hour passed like this, and she had to admit that she was feeling better. Calmer, more composed, and more guarded. It was the best she could do under the circumstances, and without more in-depth training.

She heard him approach, and soon followed closely behind him as he swept across the rain-drenched courtyard. As water rolled off of his shredded half-cape, he gestured and the command shuttle’s docking ramp began to retract.

She noted that he’d brought nothing with him except his lightsaber and felt a little over prepared.

The courtyard looked as though it had been partly destroyed a couple decades ago. Crumbling statues lined the perimeter, and great pits and craters mottled the ground, covered in many years’ worth thick tendrils of vines that had broken through the edges of the surrounding jungle over time.

The building ahead looked as though it might have once had a large staircase leading up from the courtyard, but was little more than a scattered pile of rubble. The doorway it led up to was collapsed. Vegetation had begun to sprout between the cracks and fallen chunks of grey stone, and at the very least, it was impassable.

Tamira scanned the rainy courtyard for another entrance. Thunder rumbled overhead and she tugged her hood closer around her so that water wouldn’t seep in. She was still wearing her bridge tech uniform, which was meant for environmentally-controlled starship interiors, not rain-pelted jungle planets.

A rumbling like thunder began again, but this time she felt the vibrations through her feet. She faced forward to see the Commander raise his left arm, fingers curling. The ground beneath her hummed and her arms erupted in gooseflesh.

The pile of fallen stone blocking the entrance shuddered and quaked. Pieces bigger than her and far heavier shifted where they lay. And with a lazy, one-handed gesture, Kylo Ren flung them aside in either direction.

Chunks of rock and uprooted vegetation smashed into the ground and the broken statues at the edges of the terrace, others tumbled off the ledges into the surrounding forest. Ahead, a dark corridor was exposed.

He walked toward it, stepping carefully over the ruined stairs, and Tamira was forced to scurry after him, still somewhat shocked by the casual display of immense power. She’d never seen anything like it with her own eyes, she’d only read historical accounts about figures from the past, and if they were to believed, feats far more incredible were possible.

Witness firsthand what Kylo Ren was capable of made her faint connection to the Force seem all that more pathetic. She tried not to let it bother her that she would never reach that level of ability. She excelled in many other ways; she’d been near the top of her class in the academy, and though she was neither the youngest nor the brightest, her career as an Ops tech showed much promise, perhaps with a commissioned officer’s ranking in her future.

Inside the entrance, the corridor stretched into darkness untouched by the grey light outside. Tamira shook the water off her hood and felt around behind her for the small nightvision headset strapped to her backpack. She could hear Kylo Ren’s heavy steps ahead in the dark, but his shape was quickly lost to the shadows.

“ **Don’t fall behind, Daws** ,” his voice echoed ahead and down to the left.

In pitch blackness she stayed near, both trying to maintain control of her thoughts and keep a sense of his aura. It was subdued, but when she focused she could feel him, like a soft thrum in the back of her eyeballs.

Even with the headset shining invisibly on the ground in front of her and the back of the Commander’s heels, the interior of the temple was eerie. It smelled of dust and something sweetly rotten. Empty rooms untouched for years echoed with their steps, made it sound like they were being followed.

They made their way carefully down a cracked stone stairway to a lower level, and the hum she’d felt through her feet when he’d moved the rocks was only getting stronger. A static in the air tickled her sinuses, and made her sneeze loudly in the stale air. This time, the echoes she heard back were from something else.

She felt a gentle brush of pins and needles on her chin, and recognizing it as Kylo Ren’s Force presence, looked up to see the Commander gesturing in the darkness ahead for her to halt where she was. He faced forward where he stood at a large open doorway. Her night vision visor didn’t reach far, but she caught sight of something in the pitch blackness behind him, something that emitted its own faint light.

“Commander, what is it?” she asked, her voice barely above a whisper, though even that seemed too loud in the stillness.

“ **It seems we’ve reached the objective. Far more easily than I’d expected.** ”

He sounded uneasy.

She glanced behind them, afraid, suddenly that they were being watched. She was met with solid darkness past what her night vision could see.

“ **Stay near.** ”

She could see strange runes etched around the doorway as she passed beneath it.

The room was vast, based on the way their footsteps echoed, his heavy loping gait, and her faster steps as she tried to keep up.

She deactivated her visor to see the glowing object up ahead more clearly, though it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the relative dimness.

The object in question was on the far back wall, opposite the door, sitting in an alcove surrounded by a hazy red glow. As they came near, she could see that the object had a face. It was a mask with eyes of black glass that reflected its own red light.

The silence in the chamber was oppressive, except for the sub-sonic thrum nagging at the back of her mind ever since they’d stepped foot inside the temple.

“Do you feel that?” she asked tentatively, unable to tear her eyes away from the mask.

“ **Something isn’t right,** ” he said, halting her with a forearm across her chest. She finally turned to look at him and realized she was able to see him when before she couldn’t. A faint green light caught the textures of his black garments. The source of the light was coming from behind them.

“ **Go Back!** ” Kylo Ren barked suddenly, pulling her shoulder. She turned to see that the inside of the doorway was marked with the same writing as the exterior, but on this side the letters radiated an acid green light.

Something materialized before the doorway, and she skidded to a halt. Adrenaline flooded her system.

A figure emerged from the darkness ahead, flickering like a flame in zero gravity.

Features etched in yellow light came together to form a luminescent humanoid shape as immaterial as smoke. Its head, crowned by a pair of massive horns, resembled a male Devaronian’s, but his legs were suspended above the floor and ended in a smear of dissolving light.

Eyes, bright and hollow, looked right at her.

She realized that it saw her. In that moment, its mouth opened into a silent scream.

Tamira stumbled back, reaching for the blaster she hadn’t thought to bring, and her back hit the Commander’s front. At that moment, a wash of green energy spilled from the wide stone frame to the floor underneath. It looked like a force field, but a kind she’d never seen before.

Kylo Ren’s growl of rage gave her a start.

There was a hissing thrum as he activated his lightsaber, drenching everything around him in crimson light.

Tamira backed away from him, gawking at his weapon. It was the size of a greatsword, bright enough to hurt her dark-adjusted pupils and burn her retinas.

She was mesmerized by the sight, even as she continued to put more distance between her and the rage she could feel emanating from him. Without preamble, he rushed at the smoky amber figure. He brought his lightsaber down on it in a wide arc.

The ghostly figure dissolved the moment he touched it. Kylo Ren barely faltered, he just continued forward, bringing the weapon back around for a second strike. This time he aimed for the green barrier blocking the entrance.

Sparks flew where the plasma column met the field, and the weapon ricocheted hard enough to throw him off balance. He tried again, thrusting this time, but the barrier was unmoved by his attempts to break through.

He was left standing, lightsaber in hand, with his hood down around his shoulders.

He deactivated his blade, and then he spun on his heel and strode away from the door, headed in her direction.

Kylo Ren swept past her until he was standing before the alcove.

“Are we trapped…?” she asked, dreading the answer.

“ **For now,** ” came the terse response, though he didn’t look at her. She followed his gaze and found herself looking into the mask’s black eyes.

She stepped closer, captivated by it.

It was a hammered metal, mouthless and noseless. Black eyes shone like glass. Where the mouth would be was a row of rivets, and the entire tarnished surface of it was textured with evenly spread indentations. The inaudible hum she had felt deep in her core seemed to be coming from it.

Kylo Ren reattached his lightsaber to his belt and paused with his hands hovering before it.

She had questions, about the spectral figure that had appeared, the writing over the door, and the nature of the mask itself. She kept them to herself.

HeHis flexed his fingers and stepped forward. Somehow the mask looked heavy, as in far heavier than was logical. There was a weight to it, a density that couldn’t be quantified, but she could feel in her bones.

Despite this, and his own hesitation, Kylo Ren picked up the mask easily. The red glow seeped from the top of it like fumes, leaving a dissipating trail in the air behind it as he turned it around to see it from different angles and run his gloved fingers over its dented surface.

After a moment, he growled in frustration.

“ **What is your secret?** ” he murmured to himself, thick and deep and low.

“Sir... what is it?”

As if remembering that she was there, he glanced at her.

“ **A test,** ” he answered evasively. “  **Or a trap. Perhaps both.** ”

“Is there anything I can do...?” she asked uncertainly.

“ **Go search for another way out of here,** ” he said, waving his hand impatiently in dismissal.

His flippant tone provoked her own anger, but she bit it back. Clearly this was beyond her capabilities, but it still stung to hear his disdain.

“Yes, Commander.” Tamira didn’t care, she was glad to leave him alone with his ‘artifact’ if it gave her an excuse to get away from him.

She stole another look toward the doorway, but the spirit, or whatever it was, had not returned. She could still picture it, in her mind clearly. Something told her that just because she couldn’t see it, didn’t mean it was gone.

Switching on her visor’s night vision, she started along the perimeter of the room, searching for anything of use. A concealed lever, or hidden door. The walls, ceiling, and floor were solid, almost strangely featureless. Whatever purpose the room might have served at some point, it had long since been cleared of everything but the mask.

She kicked along the corner of the floor and walls and felt visible cracks for any sign of structural weaknesses. She even made a few attempts to wedge the cracks open with the prybar attached to her kit, but the stone was unmovable.

Meanwhile, Kylo Ren strode back to the doorway with the mask in hand, and she was curious enough to stop and watch.

He approached the glowing field and she felt his power gather around him; an increase in air pressure and a ringing in her ears, even from where she stood.

He extended his arm and held the mask before him.

The green incandescent barrier continued glowing as it had been, as unaffected as the words blazing above it.

After a moment, Kylo Ren lowered the mask and cracked his neck. He tried again, using the Force, hand clawed, arm shaking. As when he’d uncovered the entrance, she felt the floor vibrate with the power of it.

He uttered a strained grunt, and then a frustrated snarl before releasing. The ringing in her ears subsided.

He began to pace, slowly, by all appearances oblivious, or uncaring of her presence.

The fact that he seemed to be trying everything he could to break through, and was failing, was disconcerting.

So,Tamira did as she was told and continued to search the cavernous room. She might have liked to help him, she enjoyed puzzles after all, but that would have required him to give her more information about the mission, and she wasn’t going to ask.

She was out of her depth here, and while it was terrifying to realize that she had no control over the situation, there was a certain freedom that came with it.

The Commander could figure this out his own damn self, and if that meant she’d be reassigned to one of the smaller frigates or cruisers if they eventually got out of this, that was just fine with her.

An hour passed, at least, in total silence as Kylo Ren tried multiple methods to get through. He drew his finger around the doorway, speaking a strange language aloud as his hand passed over the symbols. He was reading it, she realized. Whatever language it was, she didn’t recognize it, but there was a solemn cadence to his voice as he spoke the words that gave her pause.

Nothing happened then, either.

She stopped trying to pretend that she was looking for an exit, because there was none. She leaned against the wall beside the alcove and watched as the Commander persisted.

Another hour passed and her nervousness gave way to boredom. She slid to the floor where she’d been leaning and took off her kit in the hopes that she might find something useful inside. She immediately found a water pouch, and took a drink.

Kylo Ren was crouched in front of the door, mask in hand, apparently in deep thought. Agitation came off him in prickly waves.

She briefly wondered if she should offer him a drink. That led to the question of whether he had to take off his helmet to eat and drink. And, if so, what he might actually look like under there. She had no idea, and until she caught a glimpse of his hand in the shuttle, she hadn’t even known if he was human. That thought led her, naturally, to think about what he’d done with that hand just moments before she caught sight of it.

She stopped her train of thought there, remembering that she needed to try and control her wandering musings, though her unoccupied mind was prone to wander. If he wanted water, he could ask. She doubted he would.

She delved deeper into the kit, but found nothing of use for her current situation; a compact bedroll, enough field rations for two days, blaster cleaning kit, armor repair kit, survival multi-tools, and a weak plasma torch for emergency mechanical repairs. Methodically, she began to return everything to its place in the kit and stood to her feet to shake out the restlessness in her legs. Her shoulders were sore from the weight of the pack, so she rubbed them.

She glanced at Kylo Ren through the night vision visor. He was absently jostling the lightsaber hilt on his belt as though he were considering attacking the barrier again, not that the last three times had accomplished much apart from singeing superficial gashes in the walls around the entrance.

She was starting to wish she hadn’t given into his seduction in the elevator, even though the simple memory of it was enough to elicit a half-hearted twitch between her legs. She would have preferred to be working on her shift now, facing familiar problems with logical solutions. Instead, she was trapped in a tomb with a man whose personality she was beginning to dislike more by the second.

“ **I should’ve left you on the shuttle,** ” he snapped, doubtless after seeing where her thoughts had veered.

“Maybe you’re right,” she said before she could stop herself. And as an afterthought, she added, “Sir . ”

He unfolded his long body and faced her slowly. Even though she felt the blood drain from her face in disbelief over her brazen disrespect, she didn’t take it back. She swallowed the dry lump in her throat. There was no way back now, only forward.

“ **You should be grateful for this opportunity.** ”

Tamira’s clammy face flushed hot, and her fists tightened at her sides.

“The only reason you brought me with you is because you didn’t want everyone to know you’d finger-fucked a junior tech in your shuttle,” she blurted.

A millisecond later, she clasped a hand to her gaping mouth, bewildered. Apparently suppressing her thoughts made them come out in other ways, but it was out there, now.

He didn’t react with immediate anger, like she expected.

“ **Come here,** ” he said, sounding completely calm. Fear flashed. He was going to kill her, she was sure.

But he’d given an order. Like a woman walking to her doom, Tamira crossed the room. Her footfalls echoed ominously, and her hands knitted together behind her back.

When she neared, Kylo Ren turned to the side and looked at the door. He gestured at the symbols.

“ **The words on this door are carved in the ancient Sith language,** ” he stated. She could tell that he was making an effort to speak with patience and as her disbelief dropped away, she found herself curious to know more.

“What does it say?” she asked, testing the waters.

“ **It’s the Sith code,** ” he answered. “  **Do you know it?** ”

Tamira took a shaky breath, beginning to adjust to the possibility that she wasn’t going to die, not yet anyway.

“Yes. All Nominals are taught a basic history of Force use. With focus on the Sith adepts, of course.”

He held up the mask.

“ **This artifact is made powerful by what it contains: the collected life force energy of a hundred sentient beings from across the galaxy.** ” He turned it to stare into its face contemplatively. “ **Damned souls, some might say.** **They are imprisoned, severed from the universal Force in an existence of pure agony, unable to voice their tortured screams. Forever.** ”

Tamira stared at the object in his hand. She understood why it looked so heavy.

She remembered the Devaronian spectre’s silent scream and hollow eyes. Gooseflesh erupted across her arms, and she hugged them close.

“Whoever put it here didn’t want it to be found,” she said, thinking aloud more than talking to him.

“ **Clearly** ,” he answered anyway with a little impatience. “  **Now you know everything relevant.** ”

“Thank you, Sir,” she said with the sincerity befitting his gesture of goodwill.

Determined to make an attempt to be useful, she'd turned toward the writing around the door, already puzzling over its contextual significance when he spoke again.

“ **That isn't why I brought you, by the way.** ”

“What?” she said, her mind elsewhere.

“ **When you said that I only brought you because I'd…** ” he faltered.

She was at a loss.

“...Sir?”

“ **I wasn’t worried for myself. I was simply considering… I didn't want your career to suffer for what we did.** ”

“When you fingered me,” she supplied.

“ **Any of it,** ” he cut in with an edge of irritation. “  **If this were a normal situation, I wouldn’t have done it.** ” He quickly added, “  **with lower ranking personnel.** ”

Something occurred to her then, but it was too outlandish. Too implausible. She tried to move her attention onto the topic of their current predicament, but she found herself unable to focus.

She eyed him. Surely he wasn’t… it couldn't be.

“Sir… are you-”

“ **Enough,** ” he snapped, too quickly, turning away.

Tamira was stunned because she was certain that her suspicions were true, now. She couldn't believe it.

For a virgin, the Commander was extraordinarily skilled with his hands. And he’d been so self sure, enough that she wouldn’t have guessed. Knowing this, she put more effort to keep a tight rein on her thoughts. The one question she couldn’t silence as she regarded his long body and easy strength more closely, was how ?

It seemed that despite his initial dismissal, he was allowing her to participate. She would take it as seriously as any other aspect of her job. Whether it was a test or a trap, or a combination of the two, there had to be a solution.

“What would happen if someone put it on?” she asked.

“ **Don’t be foolish,** ” he said sharply, turning to look at her. “  **There is no way to know what it would do to the wearer.** ”

But then he looked down at the mask in his hands and back up at her, and she could tell that he was already reconsidering.

She approached the doorway, regarding the writing etched around its border. The lettering flickered faintly, as though they were illuminated from within by a green flame. It had to be related to the Sith code somehow. The code, and the mask. It was all they had, all they’d been given.

“Sir… with your permission, I’d like to try it on.”

“ **Out of the question.** ”

“Do you have any better ideas?” she shot back, risking disrespect by speaking her mind. “If anything happened, it would happen to me.”

He was silent for a moment, standing there with his arms crossed.

“ **Fine,** ” he said finally. “ **Put it on. But I can’t promise I’ll be able to help you if it goes wrong.** ”

She nodded, feeling like she might have lost her senses. But inside of her she felt a burning ambition. As he extended the glowing red mask toward her, she accepted that this could be a mistake. An eternity of agony was something she’d prefer to avoid. But in doing this, if she managed to help their situation, perhaps even get them out… it would be worth it. For her career at the very least.

It was an ugly thing, cold metal tarnished and blackened by time on the outside. The red aura that wafted above it like glowing steam had no smell or texture, but she avoided touching it all the same as she turned the mask around to look at the inside. Unlike the front of the mask, it was smooth and burnished a fiery bronze, untouched it seemed, by time.

The hum hovering just outside of her hearing grew in strength until it set her teeth on edge. An iridescent shimmer passed over the interior of the mask. She told herself as she brought it to her face that it was just a mask, no more.

Warm, smooth metal fit over her face perfectly, as though it were molded to her shape. Colors and light bled and left trails, and the humming that seemed to emanate from the mask seeped into her marrow until she felt the quivering energy throughout her body.

Kylo Ren stared, and like a ship’s sensory nodes coming online, her awareness of his state came into sharp focus. Like a punch to the gut, she felt his breathless anticipation, and… his awe.

“ **Daws,** ” he said quietly. “  **How does it feel?** ”

She licked her dry lips and, holding it to her face by the chin, looked around, hoping to see something different through its eyes. The mask seemed to cast a reddish light in her surroundings, almost like enhanced low light vision, so even the dark corners were visible to her. Other than that, she didn't feel so different.

“It feels fine,” she said. She expected her voice to be muffled, but it sounded clear to her. “Though I’m perhaps slightly more perceptive than before…”

She glanced to the doorway and gasped. Holding the mask to her face she came closer to it, blinking her eyes up at the text to make sure they weren't playing tricks on her. But it was apparent they weren't. Some of the words etched over the door were now effusing a bloody red glow, like that of the mask.

“ **What is it?** ” he asked with an edge of excitement.

She pointed up to the glowing lettering near the beginning of the inscription.

“What exactly does this say? Just this part.”

There was a moment of hesitation before she heard him move to stand next to her. She didn't know if it was her imagination, but the Commander kept looking at her, as if he was unable to stop himself.

“ **‘Only Passion’** ,” he said. She nodded, then pointed at the red words at the end, looking at him when he didn't answer immediately. He was staring at her. “  **‘Will set me free.’** ”

“Only passion will set me free?” she repeated. She slipped the mask off to look, and her vision returned to normal. No words were highlighted, and all she could see was what the glowing barrier illuminated. “What could it mean?”

“ **It's a riddle,** ” he answered, more quietly. “  **If the words are only apparent through the eyes of the mask, then it stands to reason that one must be wearing it as it is solved.** ”

“Okay,” she started, her mind working. She held the mask to her face again, and found that she much preferred how things looked with it on. Her sight was clearer, even than with the visor. “So… passion. Only passion…  according to the code the opposite of passion is peace, right?”

“ **The Sith word for passion has many meanings. Doubtless this is why the language was chosen in this case, to lend ambiguity.** ”

Tamira had to wonder why he sounded so grim. She glanced over to him. She could see by the tense set of his shoulders, and the way his right hand hovered over the lightsaber, that something was on his mind, not that he was letting her know.

“Sir?”

“ **The Jedi tenets encourage calm, balanced detachment. If rightful death is carried out, then it must be done without anger, or joy. The Sith, however… believed that emotion granted strength. Power. Victory. A killing driven by rage, or anger, was righteous... I may have solved this, Daws. But I am not so eager to see it through.** ”

Tamira understood too well what he was implying. But she wouldn't accept it. She shook her head, dropping the mask so that it dangled from one hand at her side. Her heart hammered in her chest.

“Sir, there's got to be another way… surely you aren't so angry with me as to… I mean, it has to be passionate, right?”

“ **I am so often… filled with rage. For many reasons. But no, I'm not angry with you, Daws.** ” He looked down, and she could tell he meant it. “  **I would prefer not to have to kill you. But grief, regret, and pain, if strong enough, fall within the definition of ‘passion’ in the Sith language. Perhaps… that’s why you're here.** ”

“Now hold on,” she started, a rising edge in her voice, raising her hands between them. “Wait a minute. What about other emotions? Passionate joy, or -or love?”

“ **I feel neither of those things. Attachment leads to weakness. Detachment grants me the strength upon which my power is founded. I've denied myself to better focus on what is important.** ”

“Denied yourself? Hold on. Does that mean you're celibate?”

“ **Of my own choosing, yes,** ” he answered, perhaps a little too quickly. Tamira shook her head, still not absorbing this.

“But… forgoing love, or even sex… it seems pretty dispassionate to me.”

“ **I'm above such base things,** ” he said haughtily. “  **There is no need when my thirst for vengeance against the last Jedi is great enough to drive me.** ”

“You didn't seem above those things in your fucking shuttle,” she shot back, getting irritated. “You could at least consider other options before killing me, sir .”

“ **Why are you so obsessed with sex?!** ” he snapped suddenly

“Obsessed with-” she sputtered, “I'm not obsessed .”

“ **You're constantly thinking about it. With your thoughts so loud in my head I can't escape it.** ”

“Yeah, well, forgive me, but that’s normal. The only reason it bothers you so much is that you’re a... “ she stopped herself. “Because you’ve never done it. It’s not a big deal, not to most people. But in your effort to avoid thinking about it, you’ve only made it harder to resist.”

Kylo Ren was silent for a moment, but she could hear him breathing. She’d managed to get him riled up over this. It was the first time she’d been confronted with any kind of vulnerability in him, and it put her in an awkward place. In this, she was apparently more experienced.

“Sir, how old are you?” she asked, daring to be bold. With discussions of death and sex, it didn’t seem as taboo to ask him something so personal.

“ **Twenty-nine,** ” he answered.

Tamira clenched her teeth to stop her mouth from falling open and nodded as though she accepted this information easily.

But he was so young . So much younger than she’d assumed. He was only a few years older than herself and already a Commander. Most of the talk surrounding him was rumor and speculation as far as his age or appearance, though such things were always spoken in hushed tones as though he might hear them. He was a mystery, and maybe that was partly what drew her to him. Even so, knowing for certain that he was neither so old nor too young was somehow... reassuring.

“Commander,” she started carefully, considering that not only was she addressing a superior but a sexually inexperienced man. “There’s a connection between us. You’ve felt it, and I know I sure as hell have. Just… consider the fact that we’re both here now. Consider what led up to us both being here. You don’t believe in coincidences, right? What would have happened had you left me in the shuttle and came here on your own?”

“ **I don’t know.** ”

“‘Only passion will set me free,’” she quoted, motioning toward the doorway with the mask in her hand. “It’s at least worth a try, wouldn’t you agree? If that doesn’t work… I guess we’ll have to reconsider our options.”

She didn’t like the way that sounded, but it was a pretty compelling argument and she got the sense that she was beginning to sway him.

With curiosity, she looked down at the mask, and then brought it back to her face. She could see him more clearly again through its eyes, and to a point, sense his Force presence better when she wore it. Even so, he remained well guarded. His hands were fisted at his sides, but not hovering over his lightsaber hilt as he was before.

“I have to say,” she started, taking a step toward him, feeling braver with her face hidden. “I’ve never been so hung up on a man before. Honestly, I’m not the kind of person who lets it interfere with my life. But with you… I thought something was wrong with me.”

“ **There’s nothing wrong with you. What drives the Force to manifest itself the ways that it does is unknowable.** ”

Tamira nodded, watching him as she came closer. He seemed reticent, a little stiff-backed, but he wasn’t stopping her or backing away.

“It doesn’t need to be personal,” she said, dropping her eyes. Behind the mask, her face burned. “It’s almost logical, even.”

“ **Logical… is not the word I’d use,** ” he said. Even through the vocoder, his voice sounded thicker. She was trembling in her gut. It was a heavy, warm feeling, mingled apprehension and excitement. He wanted this, it was clear. He wanted this to be the way out.

“I want you to fuck me, Sir,” she said, letting her voice drop into a huskier register. “For the mission. But also because I want it.”

“ **Enough,** ” he said, but more softly than before. “  **You don’t need to convince me any further. Prepare yourself.** ”

Tamira was at a loss with his abrupt agreement. Prepare herself? Kylo Ren turned away to face the doorway, poised with his arms crossed over his chest as in deep thought. Her neck burned, and she was starting to sweat in her uniform again.

She fiddled with the hidden zipper along the front of her uniform jacket, her eyes flickering to him uncertainly. Thinking of the bedroll in the kit, she walked hurriedly over to it using the mask to illuminate the way, her mind racing.

Was this actually happening? She felt overly hot and short of breath. So many times she’d thought about this. Of all the ways it had played out in her head, none of them were like this.

As she pulled out her bedroll, she started to feel nervous. Would he take off his helmet? Would she see him naked? Should she be naked?

She ran her fingers through her loose hair, massaging her sore scalp from where her regulation up-do had been pulled tight. She tried to shake off her own nerves. She’d had enough partners in her adult life to be fairly confident in herself. She wasn’t unusually sexually active, but after all, same-rank relations were within regulations, and there were some pretty hot soldiers and other personnel in the First Order.

It made no sense that she felt so anxious. It wasn't her first time. The Commander was so… commanding, usually. But here, she might have to guide things herself.

In a way she felt like it was almost her duty. She smirked to herself.

She unzipped her uniform jacket, letting it hang open over her black sleeveless undershirt, and removed her shoes. She left everything else on.

In her socks, she walked across the smooth, cool stone to the center of the room, and the door. A couple paces behind where Kylo Ren was standing, she began to open the bedroll. It was some kind of foam that regained its shape when it was unrolled, and as it filled out, she smoothed it down.

With a quick glance to him, she crawled onto the bedroll and reclined on her elbows. She moved the mask to wipe the beads of sweat from her forehead and took another look at it. She couldn’t imagine wanting to look at it while fucking someone. In that, at least, she had the better end of the deal.

She put the mask back on and cleared her throat.

Kylo Ren turned and looked down at her.

“ **I told you to prepare yourself,** ” he said.

“I am prepared,” she answered, accidentally letting some humorous irony slip into her voice.

“ **You’re fully clothed.** ”

Tamira lowered the mask and looked at him with her bare-faced bemusement.

“Sir **…** ” she started, pursing her lips as she tried to figure out the best way to say this. “Some people find it enjoyable to undress their partner. It can help inspire interest. I mean… if you don’t want to, I can just do it myself. I just thought it might help.”

“ **It’s not necessary. You’re desirable to me already.** ”

She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. While the compliment was appreciated, certainly, it was plain that this was going to be more difficult than she thought.

“Well maybe I’d enjoy it,” she said carefully. “This doesn’t need to be personal, but that doesn’t mean it can’t be enjoyable for both of us.”

She was already nervous about what would happen if this didn’t work, and it didn’t help that he seemed nervous to even try. This was not the time for performance anxiety. His manual dexterity was already proven, and she was achingly curious to know about the rest of him. She would make this work.

“ **Very well.** ”

His boots stopped beside the bedroll and he knelt down beside her with one knee on the padding. He moved to take off one of his gloves, but she stopped him.

“If you could leave those on,” she said, biting her lip.

He paused, flexing his gloved fingers and looking down at them.

“ **You like them?** ” he asked, quiet.

Tamira looked at the smooth black leather and the way the light of the doorway behind him made a soft, diffuse reflection on the creamy surface. Now that she was allowed to look her fill of him, instead of avoiding the urge for furtive glances when they were both on the bridge, she could appreciate the physical things that made her stomach flutter. Like his large, strong hands, and the way they looked fitted into his gloves. It had been enough to drive her to distraction, even before she knew firsthand how they felt against her skin.

“Yes,” was all she said.

“ **Put the mask on,** ” he said.

Tamira complied. In this position, looking up at him, she didn’t need to hold it in place. Propped on one elbow, she took his hesitant hand in hers and brought it underneath the open front of her jacket. She pressed his palm over her breast. He squeezed of his own accord.

Finally, she thought with a sigh when his hand slid down to her stomach and worked the front of her top higher. The warm leather skidded slowly over her sweaty skin, and his fingers gripped the soft parts of her on the way back up to her breasts. This time, he slid his hand underneath her unsexy standard-issue brassiere and cupped the soft swell of flesh.

The seam on one of his fingers brushed coarsely over a nipple and she sucked in her breath. He let go, and suddenly he was pushing his hands between her upper arms and the jacket, and pulling it down her arms. As hot as she felt, the air on her skin was more than welcome.

He wasted no time pulling her shirt over her head, almost too eager when it go caught on her mask, but his urgency was a welcome change to the way he was before.

The brassiere came next, and it was barely off of her before he palmed both of her breasts tightly and brushed the leather seams on his thumbs over her nipples.

She whimpered and flinched for the sharp jolt of hot pleasure it elicited. Her forearms were still a little tangled in her brassiere but made no effort to free them just yet.

“ **Do you like pain?** ” he asked. The tremor in his voice had been almost undetectable, but it made her stomach flip. She imagined that the Commander was skilled in causing pain. And as much as she liked to test limits in the right context, she just wasn’t sure enough about him.

“A little,” she said, watching his hands squeeze her breasts, fingers gripping, luxuriating in the soft flesh. “But not too much.”

He made a wordless sound of acknowledgement before pinching both puckered buds between his thumbs and forefingers. It was just short of painful, somehow right in the sweet spot, and she moaned appreciatively. Her spine tightened and she stretched, pushing her chest harder against his hands.

His breathing had gone ragged, and she thought she could relate. His focus on her was warm and tingly, and the way the mask seemed to infuse her with its energy made her feel pleasantly lightheaded.

He seemed content to tease her, and she couldn’t deny the effect it was having on her. Gone was her anxiousness, and his earlier stilted demeanor, replaced by a sort of stunned, hungry anticipation.

Any other time, she might have enjoyed having her breasts toyed with until she was a quivering, desperate mess. In fact, if they both made it out of this alive, and amicably, she would try to make that happen.

“ **Your thoughts are… pleasing to me,** ” he said roughly, squeezing her breasts hard enough to make her squirm. She untangled herself from her brassiere finally and lay her hands on top of his. Looking through the mask, light seemed to have a halo, even what was reflected off of the chrome detailing on his helmet face.

“They get much worse, I assure you,” she said with a hidden smirk. Gently, she pushed his hands down to her waist, and the waistband of her jodhpur slacks.

He hooked his thumbs under the band, touching the hot skin of her lower belly underneath. The proximity was enough to make the flesh between her thighs tighten.

To encourage him, she used her knee to gently nudge his groin. He was rock hard, and the contact was enough to make him wheeze. His fingers set to work quickly to unfasten her fly.

She moved to help him pull her pants down, but he stopped what he was doing to seize her wrists in his hands. His long fingers encircled them completely, as solid as shackles.

“ **Do you want me to restrain you?** ” he asked. Somehow, it had sounded both like a threat and a genuine question. His forcefulness caught her off guard and sent a hot shiver down her spine.

“I ah… you don’t have to,” she said hesitantly, even though she could feel her cheeks flood with heat at the thought. Perhaps that was also something best explored for another time. As this progressed, Tamira realized just how much she wanted to revisit their mutual attraction once they were back shipside.

He released her wrists with his hands.

With a subtle flick of his fingers, she felt a wash of warm tingles erupt on her arm where his gloved hands had held her.

Her wrists tugged together of their own accord. Her breath caught in her throat. Without touching her, he had her arms pinned over her head.

His unseen hold on her wrists released and she was left wide-eyed and panting. Her arms lay limp where he’d left them as though he still held them there.

“ **If you’re right about this, Daws, I’m willing to show you the extent of my abilities. Another time.** ”

She hoped so.

He unfastened her pants, and she lifted her hips, helping progress with her body instead of her hands. He peeled them down her legs, running a hand over her newly exposed skin once they were off completely.

Tamira breathed hard against the inside of the mask, shaking with anticipation, but her damp breath didn’t become trapped there. It was almost as though the mask was absorbing her breath. The implications of that troubled her, but soon Kylo Ren’s smooth hands were both sliding up the inside of her calves, knees, and thighs. Her legs twitched open.

She knew she was wet before he gently prodded the damp crotch of her underwear. The contact sent a shiver through her and she tilted her hips, seeking more. His face regarded hers, and she had to wonder how ridiculous she looked wearing the Sith mask.

“ **You don’t look ridiculous,** ” he said a bit out of breath as he stroked her groin through her underwear with the lazy flick of a couple of fingers. The other slid over her hip bone and belly. Her skin tingled where it touched.

“Sir,” she panted, impatient with the pacing. She pushed her legs open wider, lifted her hips. “if you could at least try not to read my thoughts, I’d appreciate it.”

“ **If I were able to, I would. But what I’m feeling now is… beyond my knowledge of the Force.** ” His free hand slid up her torso and between her breasts, to her neck. Leaning over her so he could do both, his mask peered down at her. His fingers closed loosely around her neck before slipping back down to a breast. He palmed it, pinched the nipple, and Tamira’s entire body jerked, mashing her pussy against his taunting hand.

“ **You’re in my head,** ” he spoke in a low warble. “ **I can feel what I’m doing to you. This is… like nothing I’ve ever experienced. I need more.** ”

Tamira tried to understand what he was saying, but it didn’t make sense. And at that moment, he sat up and removed one of his gloves. Without pausing, he wrenched down her underwear hard enough that the waistband left a fleeting friction burn on her skin. He slicked his finger between her folds and hooked the digit into her.

They both groaned at the same time, and he looked down with a shudder.

She panted and writhed, clenching around his finger. He began to move it in and out of her moist cunt, and when he added a second finger, the sweet ache sent a wash of heat through her body.

His motions were jolting his entire body, and his hips moved forward slightly in time with his fingers.

“Sir **,** ” she gasped, straining her thighs as wide as she could. “Please.”

Breathing hard, he withdrew his hands from between her legs and her breast. He slipped his hands under the front of his black tunic and worked at the fly of the pants underneath. It seemed that he was going to keep his clothes and his helmet on.

It was a good thing, she thought. After all, this wasn’t meant to be personal. But, as she watched his hands move under the front of his tunic, she couldn’t help the thrill she felt for the intimacy of what they had done, and were about to do. Whatever the reason.

He locked onto her face and pulled himself forward on top of her. Leaning on one arm, she looked down between them to see him grasping a length of thick, blushing cock in his bare hand.

“ **Look at me,** ” he said. She tore her eyes away reluctantly and peered up at his mask through hers. She couldn’t see his expression, but she could feel his trembling anticipation.

She felt his cockhead nudge her mons and drag a wet trail down to her slit. Tamira pulled her arms forward and draped them around his neck, never once looking away. His thick gland probed for her opening, easy for how slippery she was. Too soon, he pushed forward, penetrating just the entrance at an uncomfortable angle. She squeaked involuntarily, then bit her tongue, embarrassed.

He tried again, and this time the shaft slid home.

Kylo Ren uttered a guttural groan as he eased his length into her as far as he could. Tamira panted when the ache of the sweet stretch settled into her spine. Adjusting his balance so that his body curved over her more completely, he made some shallow tentative motions with his hips before plunging into her hard enough to rock her entire body.

Tamira gasped, and her hands tightened into fists in the shredded fabric of his hood. He did it again, and she could feel his whole body behind it. His black helmet tipped back and he groaned as he penetrated her, sliding along her tight walls and hitting her cervix.

It was rough. Like any other inexperienced man in bed, he hadn’t found his rhythm, nor did he seem to understand how best to use his strength and the size of his cock to his advantage. But Tamira fucking loved it.

Beneath him, she arched her back, rocked her hips to meet his as best she could. He slid his bare palm up her stomach, nails digging into her skin as he fucked her, grasping her breast. Her link with him magnified by the mask, she sensed his euphoria, his wonderment, and a dark impulse that gave her a hot thrill straight to her cunt.

“Do it,” she panted.

“ **What?** ” he asked breathlessly.

“Whatever you’re thinking. Whatever you need to do.”

It was a dangerous permission, but Tamira felt reckless, almost intoxicated. And the small thrill of fear and desire she sensed in him when she said that made the impact of his cock deep inside of her that much more intense.

“ **I’m not going to kill you,** ” he said in a shaky growl, slowing his thrusts. She nodded, impatient.

His bare hand snaked up to her collarbone, and then her throat. Feeling his skin on hers was its own special reward. The fact that it was the only part of him, apart from his cock, that was exposed made her feel powerless in a way she realized that she’d always craved.

He rolled his hips forward, already moving more smoothly than he had at first. His warm, broad hand pinched the sides of her neck. She immediately felt the tightness that came with the arrested blood flow.

It wasn’t enough to be dangerous, though the act of doing it seemed to incense him. His thrusting cock hammered her, faster, harder.

His throaty grunts filtered through the vocoder and sent the extra blood flow between her legs to add to the gathering tightness.

The web between his thumb and index finger pressed carefully on her trachea. Tamira sucked in a groaning breath through her restricted airway. Her face felt hot and tight beneath the mask. Her head tipped back, eyes pitching up under her lids as the compounding sensations and the pounding pressure in her cunt and head began to consume her senses.

Kylo Ren let up the pressure before it got too intense, but he didn’t stop. The rhythm he’d found was beginning to stutter, and he was breathing was coarse and erratic. His thumb stroked the underside of her jaw and then he released her neck. A second later, she could feel the pressure on her neck again, but not from his hand. Tingling, warm, and uniform, just shy of choking, he was using the Force.

Through bleary eyes, she watched his bare hand move between them, where it found her clit.

His thumb mashed against the sensitive nub artlessly, but there was enough pleasure in his harsh ministrations to bring her to the brink.

The force tightened around her neck, squeezing her blood vessels and restricting her air until her lungs started to burn and she could see pinpricks in the outer corners of her vision.

He buried his cock deep, slipped a wet thumb over her clitoris, and dragged her over the edge.

At that moment, the pressure on her neck released and she came. In a moment of pure, mind-blowing euphoria, Tamira let out a hoarse cry.

Kylo Ren’s rhythm broke, and with a guttural grunt, he spilled a hot flood deep inside of her.

His hips moved in a weak couple of thrusts as his cock continued to pulse in waves. Panting, she held tight to him as she waited for the aftershocks to lessen in intensity, but each twitch of the muscles inside of her, and every additional pump of his hips sent another jolt of residual pleasure straight to her gut.

“The… barrier,” she managed to gasp, trying to move her liquefied muscles to look behind him.

Kylo Ren took a deep breath and craned to peer back over his shoulder.

They both saw at the same time that the shimmering barrier was gone.

She didn't have time to exalt in this fact, because both of them were seized with the same urgency.

Kylo Ren eased himself out of her and she pushed herself upright. She felt languid and sleepy as she reached for her bra and her other clothes. He wiped his wet softening dick on the underside of his tunic and tucked himself back inside.

She didn't miss how he kept glancing at her as she dressed herself, and only then did she realize that she was still wearing the mask. The friction of her sweat had adhered it to her face, and she pulled it off.

“ **The mask suits you,** ” he said, handing her her pants before rising to his feet.

She looked up at him and smiled.

“So does yours.”

“ **You like it?** ” he asked, pulling on his glove. Though he'd tried to sound nonchalant, there was a note of vulnerability in his question that triggered her empathy.

“I like everything,” she said, giving him a meaningful look. He met her stare for a moment before taking the mask from her and turning away.

Smiling to herself, she finished dressing.

The Commander, because that's what he was once again, took the mask as she gathered her kit. She stuffed the bedroll back into it, slid it over her shoulders, and donned her poncho.

Without further delay, they left the chamber.

Tamira spared a final glance behind her.

The sight of dozens of glowing spectral figures standing motionless past the doorway made her heart skip a beat. But when she blinked, they were gone.

She'd never forget how each of them had been frozen in an expression of mute horror, mouths stretched open in voiceless screams.

Most of the shuttle flight back to the Finalizer was spent in silence. Both of them were occupied with their own thoughts it seemed, but it was markedly less tense than the flight down to Devoran.

When the enormous wedge of the Finalizer came into view through the front windows, Tamira took a deep breath. Back to reality.

“ **You performed admirably, Daws,** ” Kylo Ren said, typing in the docking code.

“Uhm, thanks?” she said, a little nonplussed with his strange compliment.

“ **I am referring to the mission itself,** ” he said. She thought she detected an audible smile, but she couldn’t be sure. “  **Speaking as your Commander, you entered a potentially dangerous encounter without prior experience. You remained collected and rational when others might have panicked. And you managed to find the best outcome to what could have been a very... unfortunate situation.** ”

Tamira was speechless. She had not been expecting his praise, and had no words to answer him. He continued to go through the docking procedure as the Super Star Destroyer filled the front view.

“ **I know you’re slated for potential advancement. I will be sure to give my endorsement. You’ll have to meet the usual requirements, of course. But if today is any indication, I suspect you will continue to move up in rank in short order. On your own merit.** ”

“Thank you, Sir,” she said, feeling strangely bashful all of a sudden. “What are you going to say about the mission?”

“ **I must tell the Supreme Leader everything, including the circumstances of our escape. But I assure you such base matters are of no interest to him. No one else needs to know what you were willing to do for the Order, Daws. It’s of no consequence to any but us.** ”

She nodded and fell silent as the commander shuttle pulled into the port hangar’s outer shielding and came to a stop.

“Thank you, Commander,” she said. He nodded, so formal now that they were back in the hangar, but there was something about his demeanor that was changed. He was completely calm.

“ **You may spend the rest of your shift however you want, but I expect you at your post tomorrow.** ”

She smiled as he turned to the door and activated the docking ramp controls, relieved that she didn’t have to show up on the bridge after everything. She needed some time to adjust.

“ **Thank you, Daws. It was…** ” he started, pausing at the door with his hand on the frame. She looked at him, still flushed from his praise. “  **It was enlightening.** ”

And without another word, he left.

Supreme Leader Snoke listened patiently as his apprentice gave him an almost clinical point-by-point retelling of the mission to retrieve the mask of Viceroy Exim Panshard.

“You did well, Commander,” Snoke said solemnly when he was done. “And now we have yet another valuable resource to put toward our cause. I commend you on your ingenuity.”

“ **The Nominal I was with deserves credit as well, Supreme Leader. She has brought the Order honor with this victory. She shows great promise.** ”

“Noted. Take the mask to my vault. I want you to meditate on your experiences.”

“ **Yes, Supreme Leader. I will do as you say,** ” he said with a quick bow.

Snoke dismissed the young man with a nod and watched his small figure exit. His step was lighter, he noted, resting his chin on a grey, bony hand. When the doors to the chamber closed, he sighed.

Even the Supreme Leader hadn’t been sure how the mission was going to end. Knowing him, Kylo Ren might have just as easily killed the girl. The result would have been the same, not that his trusting apprentice would ever know.

As it was, Snoke’s subtle, ongoing influence on the two of them had finally come to fruition. The mission, and the simple trap he’d laid for them in the Jedi temple, had played out exactly as he’d hoped.

Maybe now that Kylo Ren was getting laid, he would be better focused on his training.

Done with his musing, Snoke deactivated the holoprojector and the audience chamber went dark.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This shows as completed, but I will be adding more chapters as I feel like it :)
> 
> Some notes on the canon research I did that I strategically left out because no one cares: They are on the temple of Eedit on Devaron, which used to be a Jedi temple and school. The mask of Viceroy Exim Panshard is a thing from Aftermath, and I took artistic license with the description of its powers, and the ghosts and shit.
> 
> I had fun with this, even though it took me awhile to write (and ended up becoming more than the shortfic I'd had planned) so I hope you liked it!  
> If so, let me know what you think!  
> Tip your writer! I accept payment in the form of kudoses and comments. <3


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